Shrinivas works on issues at the interface of climate-water-agriculture-environment-livelihoods for almost two decades. His research is anchored broadly in the water sector and uses interdisciplinary approaches combining natural and social sciences to understand the context of changing waterscapes within a larger framework of sustainable environments and human well-being. He is a lead investigator in several multi-institutional collaborative projects focusing on the impacts of land use and land cover change on downstream hydrological services, watershed development programmes, ecosystem service assessments, water conflicts, water policy, agrarian crisis and climate change. He is on several advisory panels, including the Karnataka Knowledge Commission, and works closely with state agencies like ACIWRM and civil society organisations engaged with the communities on the ground.